Nearby
by smile1
Summary: RJ! One parter. It's Christmas again and there will be another Christmas gathering at the Inn. But since Dean is out of the picture and Jess has Shane, who will jump in her sleigh this time ? PLZ REVIEW! ENJOY! :-)


*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.  
  
*A/N: Merry X-mas!!! :-) I'm pretty sure now one will read this, since it's Christmas and all and I'm aware that there are Christmas stories out there that are much better. But I just wanted to wish you guys a Merry Christmas and that's basically why I wrote this way too fluffy story. Once again, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! :-)  
  
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)  
  
''And the second issue we need to discuss.............''  
  
''You feel we need to discuss,'' Luke interrupted.  
  
''Maybe I'm the one who brings it up, but we're all thinking about it,'' Taylor said, after shooting Luke a look.  
  
''But how can we think about it when we don't even know what you're going to bring up yet ?'' Lorelai asked, causing a few smiles to appear.  
  
''Maybe subconsciously we can all read minds,'' Rory answered.  
  
''Cool ! Think about what you had for breakfast............''  
  
Taylor sighed. ''Fine, the second issue I feel we need to discuss...........'' He paused for a second to see if anyone else was going to say something, but when no one did, he continued the meeting. ''The second issue I feel we need to discuss our the town's Christmas colors.''  
  
''The town has Christmas colors ?'' Lorelai asked, looking at Rory, who just shrugged.  
  
''Red and green, Lorelai. Now, I am personally getting sick of those colors. I mean the three is already green, so why put more green in it ?''  
  
''To camouflage the three ?'' Lorelai interrupted once more.  
  
''I think it's time for a change,'' Taylor continued, paying no attention to Lorelai's comment. ''We need a new Christmas color to welcome the New Year, now I was thinking about beige...........''  
  
''Beige ?'' Luke asked, as he raised an eyebrow.  
  
''Taylor, that's ridiculous, we can't just change the Christmas colors, just because you say so,'' Mrs. Patty said.  
  
''Yeah, they're tradition,'' Babette chipped in.  
  
''We'll vote,'' Taylor proposed. ''Everyone who wants to be original and change the Christmas colors to beige, raise your hand...................... raise your hand.........'' Taylor sighed. ''Fine, we'll remain boring. Now the next issue I want to bring up is mistletoe.''  
  
''Here we go,'' Luke said, crossing his arms.  
  
''I think mistletoe should be banned. It encourages people to kiss total strangers.''  
  
''Yeah, it's a total turn-off when those tall and dark strangers turn out to have bad breath,'' Lorelai said.  
  
''Oh, I know what you mean,'' Mrs. Patty said.  
  
''Lorelai...........''  
  
''Taylor, we'll just walk underneath it one by one.''  
  
''Then what's the point of hanging mistletoe above the door ?'' Taylor asked.  
  
''Adds to the holiday spirit,'' Rory stated.  
  
''What's the point of a town meeting when everyone is always against my suggestions ?''  
  
''Because they're meaningless,'' Luke said.  
  
''Because this is a small town and we like our traditions,'' Rory joined.  
  
''And because nothing big ever happens here,'' Lorelai finished. ''Can I have my chance in the spotlight now ?''  
  
Taylor sighed and took a couple of steps back, making room for Lorelai on the stage.  
  
''As you all know there will be another Christmas gathering at the Independence Inn this year, just like year....................Kirk,'' Lorelai said, as Kirk raised his hand.  
  
''Do I have to bring my own pillows ?''  
  
''No, the Inn has beds and therefor pillows.''  
  
''Just checking..............but I can bring my own pillows if I want to ?''  
  
''Yes, Kirk.''  
  
''Why don't you bring your entire bed while you're at it,'' Luke commented.  
  
''So, like I was trying to say. Everyone's invited. There will be enough food for everyone, a Christmas show, unlike last year, for entertainment and the usual sleigh ride at the end of the night. Now, let me explain those three things. Enough food, means that you can fill your plate three times and there still would be enough food for another three plates. Made by Sookie Stars Hollow's best chef.............'' Lorelai paused long enough to smile at Sookie, who was sitting on her chair with a big grin herself.  
  
''And the entertainment section will be held before dinner. If you would like to sign up Mrs. Patty's your gal, anything goes.''  
  
''Yeah, I might even preform one of my erotic dance acts,'' Mrs. Patty announced.  
  
''Now that I gotta see,'' Babette said to no one in particular.  
  
As soon as Lorelai started about the sleigh rides, Rory became more aware of a certain presence behind her. He was probably not paying any attention to what was going on around him, he didn't care about town meetings or about the annual Christmas gathering. He only came, because Luke made him come. Which Rory didn't quite understand, since Luke thought that these weekly town meetings were a waste of everyone's time.  
  
Rory thought about last years sleigh ride. She had to admit that those few minutes that she had spend with him were heart-racing. Just sitting so close to him, knowing that if she shifted, their knees would collide. And if she took the time to turn her head she would be able to look into his eyes. For some unexplainable reason she was fascinated by his eyes. By the look he always carried in them. A look that seemed so careless, but hid a variety of different emotions, he didn't feel comfortable showing.  
  
Rory sighed and shifted in her seat, feeling restless sitting in front of Jess. She just wanted to get up and run into a corner, so she could admire him from afar. She was used observing him from afar, but she knew that she didn't have any reasons to do that anymore. She had broken up with Dean a while back, so she didn't have to feel guilty anymore of her eyes wandering in another direction. Though the guilt had become less and less important as time passed. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and forced herself to focus on the meeting again.  
  
''......any questions ?'' Lorelai concluded.  
  
Kirk's hand immediately shot up.  
  
''Yes ?''  
  
''About the erotic dancing..........she was kidding right ? Cause I'm not allowed to witness that.''  
  
''Then cover up your eyes,'' Lorelai suggested.  
  
''But then I'll just peek. There's something alluring to looking when you're not supposed to look.''  
  
''You have to be strong, Kirk.''  
  
''Right, strong, like The Terminator. Or like The Hulk.......or what's the name of that other super hero..............''  
  
Lorelai ignored his rambling and looked around the room. ''Anything else ?''  
  
The room remained quiet, except for Kirk's mumbling.  
  
''Then I guess this meeting is dismissed.''  
  
''This meeting's not over until I say so,'' Taylor said. But no one paid any attention to him and started to make their way towards the exit. ''Meeting dismissed,'' he silently said.  
  
As soon as the meeting came to an end, Rory got up and put on her coat. She had trouble with the buttons, but only noticed her nervously shaking hands when she reached for her gloves. Rory shook her head, not believing why she was letting Jess get to her. She had given speeches in front of people she didn't like or didn't know before and she had done those with a relaxed and laid-back posture.  
  
Rory tried to pull her second glove on as quickly as she could, but dropped it, because her hand was still shaking. She sighed and reached for the fallen glove. But before she could another hand grabbed it and picked it up, taking it away from Rory's reach.  
  
Rory held her breath as she got up, knowing who the hand belonged too, simply because he was wearing fingerless gloves. She had asked him about them once and he had explained that he had cut off the fingers, because this way he could flip through the pages of his books swiftly.  
  
She ran her hand through her hair, causing the strands that were covering her face to part like a waterfall and her eyes to break through and fall upon Jess' face, that seemed to strike her every time. Like she had just seen him for the first time.  
  
Jess just looked at her with a neutral expression as he handed her the glove. She looked at his hand, the way his fingers had a firm grip on her glove, as she hesitantly reached out for it, careful not to touch his fingers. She knew the affect that would have on her. All common sense would fade away and she would become even more nervous than she already was.  
  
Jess followed her movement as she gently tugged the glove over her hand, noticing that her hand was still lightly shaking. Though she hid it well. Normally he would have smirked, but this time he didn't. Cause inside he was shaking too. His thoughts and emotions were all thrown together, making him feel unsure of himself. For the very first time he wasn't able to read her, see what she was trying to tell him. After she had broken up with Dean, she had closed herself off, she had become unreadable.  
  
''I have to go, my mom's waiting.''  
  
Jess looked up at the sound of her patient voice, as she explained to him why she was leaving. Making it sound as if she would have stayed if she had a choice. Jess didn't say anything and just nodded. He wasn't a man of many words, especially not when it came to expressing himself or explaining his actions. Why bother to answer when she didn't even bother to find out. Not lately anyway.  
  
Rory broke eye contact, as she turned around and headed for her mom, who was standing by the door.  
  
''Hey, are you okay ?'' Lorelai asked, knowing how delicate the strings were that kept Rory and Jess attached to the same web.  
  
''Yeah,'' Rory answered, as she glanced back at Jess one more time. It wasn't like she was lying. Things weren't horrible between them, they were just different.  
  
*~*~*  
  
''No Kirk, you may not open the presents !'' Lorelai yelled over her shoulder, as she entered the lobby.  
  
''Michel, could you please get in there and find Kirk something to do.''  
  
Michel lowered the cup of hot chocolate that he was holding and looked at Lorelai. ''How do you suppose I do that ?''  
  
Lorelai shrugged. ''There are still some ribbons left, give him one of those. I'm sure that'll keep him occupied.''  
  
Michel put his cup down. ''Simple minded imbecile.'' And with that he went in to the dining room.  
  
''Argh, where's Luke when you need him ?'' Lorelai said, as she grabbed Michel's hot chocolate.  
  
''What's wrong ?'' Rory asked, as she came out of the kitchen and joined her mother.  
  
''Apparently Kirk's very selfish, cause he think all those presents are for him. I don't even know why I invited him to help anyway, cause helpful isn't one of his characteristics. Annoying ? Definitely.''  
  
Lorelai took a sip of the hot chocolate and grimaced at the taste of it. ''This doesn't taste anything like coffee.''  
  
''That's because it's not coffee, it's hot chocolate.''  
  
''I knew that.''  
  
''Then why did you drink it ?'' Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged, as she placed the cup back down on the counter. ''It looked like coffee. So, how's Sookie doing ?''  
  
''Nervous. She keeps making up her mind about the deserts. Finally she just decided to make both of them. But when she did that, she came up with variations on those two deserts, so we're out of whip-cream.''  
  
''I better go check on her,'' Lorelai said.  
  
Rory nodded.  
  
''You'll be okay welcoming the guests and all ?''  
  
''Yeah.''  
  
''Okay, sweets. I'm just going to go see if Sookie reached a hundred yet.''  
  
Lorelai went into the kitchen and Rory was left alone for a couple of minutes. On Christmas she always found that those minutes were scarce and precious. Not that she didn't like the company or the laughs, but she just couldn't think with everyone around her talking and laughing. That, and she wasn't a person who needed to be surrounded by people all the time. When the she heard the door open behind her, she knew that those minutes has passed. She put on a smile and turned around to greet the guests, which she knew so well. One even better than the other, though she often found herself wondering about just that.  
  
''Hey Rory, sorry we're late,'' Luke said, as he headed in her direction.  
  
''Actually, you're early.''  
  
''That's a first.''  
  
''We were early last year too,'' Jess commented, causing Rory's eyes to shift from Luke to him.  
  
''I'll get your keys and then you can go into the dining room.''  
  
Rory turned around, quicker than she intended, and headed over to the counter to get the room-key that they had carefully selected for Luke and Jess.  
  
''Where's your mom ?'' Luke asked, intruding Rory before she could get lost in her thoughts.  
  
''In the kitchen,'' Rory said, as she grabbed the key and headed back over to where Luke was standing.  
  
Luke took the key and nodded. ''Well........eh......Merry Christmas.''  
  
''Said the Grinch,'' was Jess' response.  
  
Luke shot Jess an annoyed look, before heading in to the dining room. Jess nodded at Rory, before following his uncle's footsteps. Just as the door closed behind him, Rory realized that Shane wasn't with him tonight.....  
  
*~*~*  
  
Rory followed the crowd outside, while she wrapped her coat tighter around her with her gloved hands. Dinner had been.........nerve-wrecking, since she knew that Jess would be sitting at the same table. But things only got worse when she found out that he was sitting directly across from her. Every time she had looked up, their eyes had collided, like he had been waiting for her all this time, knowing when she would look up.  
  
When she made her way down the few steps, she noticed that everyone had formed couples already. It reminded her of Lane and her when they were younger. They would do everything together, they would even share a sleigh together on evenings like this. But this year was the second year that that wouldn't be happening, cause this year Lane was the one with the caring and loving boyfriend. But she deserved it, especially after everything she had gone through at home.  
  
Rory smiled when she saw her mom running towards one of the last empty sleighs, dragging Luke along as she did this. For them it had sort of become a tradition to share a sleigh. One that would never be broken. Rory sat down on the steps in front of the Independence Inn, having peace with the fact that she wouldn't be going on a sleigh ride this Christmas. She didn't mind. This would give her just a few more minutes to be alone.....  
  
''Not in the mood for a sleigh ride ?''  
  
Rory smile disappeared, but she didn't get up.  
  
''I don't have anyone to go with,'' came her answer, as she watched the first sleighs leave.  
  
''For some reason I have a feeling that there's a deeper meaning to that answer,'' Jess said, as he sat down on the same steps as her.  
  
Rory decided to be honest with him, thinking that she had nothing to lose since Dean wasn't with her anymore and since Jess was actually taking the time to figure out the meaning of her answer.  
  
''Dean has a girlfriend, so I can't go with him. And I can't even hate her, cause she's so.....nice. Cares about everything.......''  
  
''Wants world peace,'' Jess said, breaking in to her sentence.  
  
Rory chose to ignore him and finish her answer. ''And I wasn't sure if you would jump in my sleigh if I had decided to go.''  
  
''If you wanted me to jump in your sleigh all you had to do was ask,'' Jess said, without a hint of sarcasm.  
  
''But it's not my place to ask.''  
  
Rory glanced at Jess, meeting his eyes. ''You have a girlfriend.''  
  
She averted her eyes. ''Dean has Lindsay, my mom has Luke, Lane has Dave......''  
  
''Santa Claus has Mrs. Claus,'' Jess said.  
  
''You're mocking me.''  
  
''No, if I had said Kirk had his mother then I would have been mocking you.''  
  
''You always do this.........,'' Rory said. ''I try to find a reason to dislike you, but when I finally do, I forget as soon as I talk to you. Though there hasn't been a lot of talking between us lately.''  
  
Jess' expression became serious. Admitting that he had been doing the same, but not to her. He had tried to find something about her that wasn't perfect or that he didn't find beautiful. But there was nothing he could find. He had stopped as soon as he realized that that had only been an excuse to keep her on his mind. Shane was kind of a reminder too. Cause every time he was with her, he would remember the fact that he was only with her to make Rory jealous. Every road eventually lead to Rory. Though he doubted that Rory didn't see through his tiring facade. He felt Rory shift beside him, causing her hand to graze his for a rapid second.  
  
''Your fingers are cold,'' Rory said, as she dropped her gaze to his hands, which were still covered in those fingerless gloves.  
  
''But at least I can flip through pages easier.''  
  
''Not if your fingers are frozen,'' Rory pointed out.  
  
Rory looked up at Jess, before reaching for his hand. As he felt her hand search for his grasp, he glanced at her, locking eyes.  
  
''Jess, have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and looked out your window to find that it was snowing ? Really snowing, those big flakes. And you get this urge to wake everyone else, but you don't, cause you remember that it's 1 in the morning or something. So you just grab a blanket and a pillow and install yourself in a window sill so you can look at the snow. Knowing that when you wake up the next morning it'll still be there and that the entire world will seem like one of those Christmas snow globes.''  
  
''Yes.''  
  
Rory smiled at his answer and took his hand in hers, trying to warm it.  
  
''Thanks for staying here with me.''  
  
Jess smirked at her comment, knowing that it was an honest one and quickly glanced up. He saw the mistletoe, but knew that it was only a tradition. Besides right now just sitting here, feeling her hands upon his, was enough for him to make his Christmas a Merry one.  
  
*R*E*V*I*E*W* Please ? :-) While your reviewing, don't forget to tell me about the Christmas that you're having. I'm kinda curious.... And just for the record, don't bother using the word talentless in your review, it's already engraved in my mind. Epsecially for this story. I mean, come on..... I so need to practice. Hohoho... 


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